The present invention relates to a produce harvesting apparatus and method, and more specifically to an apparatus for removing fruit from a canopy of a tree where wands inserted into the canopy are not physically held in place but which freely move in the canopy as a result of resistance encountered by the foliage of the canopy while the wands are actuated vertically and horizontally.
Various approaches have been developed to harvest produce from trees, such as citrus and other fruit, with the intention of efficiently removing the fruit while not damaging the trees. While it is believed that some methods have included shaking the trunks of the trees, others involve inserting stationary rods into a tree""s canopy and vibrating or rotating them in some fashion. It is further believed that none of these devices have been fully successful in picking enough fruit so that the excess fruit left must be picked by hand, while at the same time minimizing damage done to the trees. In several cases, wands, which are inserted into the canopy, are connected to devices that rotate the wands through the canopy. The wands are fixed so that they are not free to move in the canopy as a result of resistance encountered by the foliage. It is also believed that damage to the trees occurs because of the fixed positioning of the wands. For example, it is believed that U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,522,696, and 4,860,529 disclose wands that are fixed to a component which rotates the wands through the canopy and may result in damage to the tree. Another limitation in these patents is the inability to adjust the wands to a desired amount of penetration into the canopy.
In addition to reducing damage to fruit trees, another desire in harvesting fruit is to reduce the time it takes to harvest fruit. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,896 is believed to disclose a self contained, self propelled fruit harvester which utilizes oscillating removal heads which consist of stationary rods inserted into a tree""s canopy that are vibrated to harvest the fruit. This harvester remains in a stationary position while each oscillating removal head is selectively engaged in a single canopy and activated to remove fruit. After the operator determines that the oscillating removal heads have removed enough fruit from this single tree, the oscillating removal heads are disengaged from the canopy and the harvester is free to move to its next tree for harvesting. Thus, it is believed that this harvester is unable to continuously move through a grove of trees at a constant rate as it harvests fruit.
It would be advantageous to provide an apparatus capable of harvesting fruit while constantly moving through a field, or grove, of trees. It would also be advantageous to provide an apparatus capable of harvesting more than one tree at a time as it moves through a row of trees where the apparatus can be adjusted to the desired amount of penetration of the wands into the canopy. Additionally, it would also be advantageous to utilize wands for insertion into the canopy where the wands are not rigidly fixed to the apparatus, but are free to move as directed by resistance realized by the wands as a result of contact with foliage of the canopy during operation.
Towards this end, the present invention teaches a harvesting apparatus for dislodging produce from trees comprising a support structure, a boom vertically placed where a first end is connected to the support structure, a means to position a second end of the boom radially from the first end, horizontal posts connected to the boom wherein a first post is positioned above a second post, crank arm rotatably connected between the horizontal posts along an axis where the crank arm has a plurality of elbows, one of a plurality of spools rotatably attached to the crank arm at each respective elbow whereby each spool is free to rotate axially, a plurality of wands axially attached to each spool and spaced around each spool, and a means for rotating the crank arm about its axis.
In one exemplary example of its operation, as the crank arm turns, each spool is free to rotate its wands through the tree where the rate of rotation for each spool is determined by the turning of the crank arm and resistance encountered by the wands in contact with the tree. This movement, in unison with the propelling of the apparatus, causes fruit to be dislodged.